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Johnson having smooth transition with D-backs

Johnson having smooth transition with D-backs

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PHILADELPHIA -- When players join a new club, they often feel like they have to impress their new teammates. The ensuing results vary with that added pressure, but for Chris Johnson, they've been nothing but positive since he joined the D-backs on July 29.

In Friday night's 4-2 win over the Phillies, Johnson went 1-for-4 with an RBI. The third baseman entered Saturday's game 7-for-14 with one double, two home runs and eight RBIs in four games since he was acquired from the Astros.

"I was feeling pretty good before I got traded, trying to simplify my approach and just see the ball," Johnson said. "I've been seeing the ball pretty well. It was a good time for it, so I could come over here and be a little more comfortable and get some hits to try to help out."

As any player would, Johnson also said it was fun to be part of a pennant race, something he would not have experienced with Houston. The D-backs entered Saturday having won the first four games of their road trip, also winning 11 of their past 14 games. At 55-51, they're just two games back of the first-place Giants and a half-game behind the Dodgers in the National League West.

"It's a great clubhouse, a very relaxed clubhouse," Johnson said. "Guys just want to win. That's really all it's about here. It's pretty fun to be around."

Said manager Kirk Gibson: "He's been good for us. To expect him to keep up that pace is not realistic. But he's playing really well right now. I think he feels very comfortable. He's enjoying himself."